In order to be eligible, you obviously need to (i) have organised a meet and greet with the sitter prior to the booking, (ii) have booked via the Pawshake website or mobile app and (iii) have left a poor review for the pet sitter. The refund is not to exceed 5 days of the gross booking amount.

Although you're unlikely to experience any issues on Pawshake, we understand that your pet may need protection against unexpected life events. With Pawshake's Pet Protection, your pet is covered for all services booked through our website and our mobile app.

And yes, also pet sitters registered on Pawshake are covered against third party claims.

Pawshake has your back with a free Insurance covering for all services booked through our site or mobile app! This means that both the pet owner and the pet sitter will benefit from ultimate peace of mind.

How payments work

1. Arrange a free meet and greet

First, we strongly recommend to organise a meet and greet (i.e. a meeting in person) with your preferred pet sitter, prior to your booking online. A meet and greet request is free of charge and can be booked through our website or mobile app.

2. Booking request: book the pet sitting service and provide your billing information

Did you find the perfect pet sitter? Great.

The next step is to confirm your booking online. Choose the pet sitting services you want, the length of stay, and include any special requirements your pet may have.

As part of your booking, you also need to enter your billing information, after which the amount due for the booking will be put on hold (also known as a 'hold authorisation' on your credit card for the total of your booking). This is very similar to a booking you make for a room at a hotel: here, too, a hold authorisation will be put on your credit card for the amount of the booking.

On Pawshake, we accept credit cards Visa, Mastercard and American Express, as well as PayPal, Sofort and Giropay.

3. Booking confirmed by the pet sitter: your money safely held in escrow

The pet sitter then receives your booking request by email.

A pet sitter responds, on average, within 4 hours after received a booking request. He or she has up to 24 hours to respond.

A pet sitter can do one of these three things following your booking request:

Confirm your booking: once the pet sitter confirms your booking request, your credit card will be charged. This means that the money provided for the booked pet sitting service will be held in escrow until completion of the service.

Decline your booking: if the pet sitter declines or cancels your request, no amount will be charged. The authorisation for the hold on your credit card will automatically expire after 24 hours.

No response within 24 hours: similarly, if a pet sitter doesn't response within 24 hours, no amount will be charged.

4. Pet sitting service completed: the pet sitter gets paid

Once the booking has ended, Pawshake will transfer the amount due for the booking minus the contribution for Pawshake (19%) to the pet sitter's payment account.

As you can see, the payment process on Pawshake is fully automated, so neither the pet owner nor the pet sitter needs to worry about the money.

Cancellation policy

Cancellation by the pet owner

As a pet owner, there can always be unforeseen circumstances or reasons whereby you have to cancel a confirmed booking. This is perfectly possible. However, all pet sitters on Pawshake define their own cancellation and refund policy for the petting sitting services they provide.

A pet sitter can offer one of the following 2 cancellation options for confirmed bookings:

Flexible: Full refund if pet owner cancels by 12h00 noon one day before the service begins. 50% refund for the cancelled days if cancelled after 12h00 noon the day before the service begins.

Moderate: Full refund if pet owner cancels by 12h00 noon 7 days before the service begins. 50% refund for the cancelled days if cancelled after 12h00 noon 7 days before the service begins.

Once the booking has started, a refund is not possible.

Home visits, home boarding and housesitting can have a Flexible or Moderate cancellation policy, as chosen by the pet sitter. Please always check the profile of each pet sitter, prior to making a booking.

Dog walking and Doggy Day care always have a Flexible cancellation policy.

If you wish to cancel a booking once it has been paid for, contact our customer support team, so we can process the cancellation and relevant refund.

Please note that refunds can take up to 10 business days to appear in your payment account.

Cancellation by the pet sitter

When you make a booking with a pet sitter, money is not drawn from your account until the pet sitter confirms your booking request.

Instead your funds go into 'hold'. This means that the money never leaves your account, it only appears as though it has and it is not available in your balance in case the booking goes ahead.

Therefore, when a pet sitter doesn't confirm but instead cancels or declines your booking request, your funds automatically re-appear in your account as though they had never left.

Refund policy

As a pet owner, you will be refunded the amount of your booking under the following circumstances:

The pet sitter cancels or declines your booking request or doesn't respond to your request within 24 hours: you will not be charged;

You cancel your booking after the confirmation by the pet sitter: you will be refunded the amount of your booking in full or in part, depending on the applicable cancellation policy of the pet sitter (i.e. flexible or moderate cancellation policy). You can check the cancellation policy of your pet sitter on his or her profile page;

If, after completion of the pet sitting service, you are dissatisfied with your pet sitter, you can file a claim with Pawshake under our Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee. Your claim needs to be submitted within 3 days of the end of the booking period via the contact us section.

Frequently asked questions

Bob

Pawshake will ask for your billing information when completing your online booking request. However, the balance will not be debited from your account and put into escrow until the pet sitter confirms your booking. Also, the pet sitter will be paid only at the end of the stay of your pet, i.e. after completion of the pet sitting service.

When you make a booking with a pet sitter, money is not withdrawn from your account until the pet sitter confirms your booking request. Instead your funds go into 'hold'. This means that the money never leaves your account, it only appears as though it has and it is not available in your balance in case the booking goes ahead. Therefore when a pet sitter cancels your booking request, your funds automatically re-appear in your account as though they had never left.

A hold authorisation is a required hold on your credit card that is not confirmed unless the pet sitter confirms your booking request. Pawshake uses this authorisation to ensure that the credit card used is valid. If the pet sitter declines your booking request, or doesn't respond to your request within 24 hours, the authorisation is canceled.

An authorisation may appear on your bank statement, as a preliminary note. If your booking request is cancelled or declined, the authorisation is cancelled. The cancellation may appear on your bank statement in the form of a reimbursement. Please note that – depending on your bank – it may take up to 7 business days before you see the reimbursement on your bank statement.

Sarah

When a pet owner makes a booking request they are asked to enter their billing information. The payment is withdrawn when you, the pet sitter, confirm the booking after which the money is put in escrow. This ensures that you will receive full payment when you provide your pet sitting service.

The payment process on Pawshake is fully automated, so you can focus on your relationship with the pet and the owner.

Being a pet sitter and offering your services on the Pawshake website is free. Only when you get a booking will you be liable for a 19% contribution to Pawshake. This contribution allows us to effectively and efficiently manage the community as well as to provide you with online payments, marketing and customer support.

No. All payments must be made through the Pawshake platform. By using the Pawshake platform, you commit to making your initial and future bookings on the Pawshake website. We only make money when you do. Failure to go through Pawshake will result in immediate termination from the site. You will find more information on this topic in our General Conditions.

At the time of registration as a pet sitter, you can select a cancellation policy that best fits you: a flexible or moderate cancellation policy.

So, if a booking is cancelled by the pet owner, the cancellation policy you selected will apply. This could result in a full, partial or no payment, depending of the cancellation policy you have selected.